A Hundred Years
by Chaina
Summary: Years can pass you by in a heartbeat.


**Title: ** A Hundred Years  
**Fandom: **Star Wars  
**Characters: **Jaina Solo, Jagged Fel, Zekk, Luke Skywalker  
**Timeline: **Somewhere far, far in the future.**  
**

**Disclaimer: **Jaina Solo, Jagged Fel, Zekk, Luke Skylwakerand the rest of the SW galaxy do not belong to me. They belong to Lucas, Del Rey, respected authors, etc.

The title of the fic, and song lyrics used, are from Five For Fighting's "100 Years." If you know the song, you can tell it's the basis for this story.

**Summary: ** Years can pass you by in a heartbeat.

* * *

"I still can't get over that ballad of Tionne's, Jay. 'The Jedi Mechanic'?"

She rolls her eyes, punching his shoulder hard. "You better."

He shakes it off, chuckling softly. "Relax. You just graduated. This should be a celebration, especially given everything we've gone through these past months."

Silence and eagerness and apprehension. Finally, she takes a deep breath, meeting his eyes. "I'm leaving tomorrow with Aunt Mara." Look away, no, look at him. "Is this goodbye?"

"Might be." Softly, reluctantly. He runs a hand through his long hair, suddenly sober. "We'll always be friends, right?"

Right?

She stands along the edge of the bank, watching his retreating form walk away from the river bank. She watches and wonders. She's leaving tomorrow, about to take her next step as a Jedi Apprentice. No more Academy, no more adventures around with her brother or any of her friends. It's a strange thought. More than that, it is a strange feeling.

Fifteen's come and gone, and before she knows it, the year will be over like the setting sun. Her stomach knots as she realizes that another chapter in her life just closed, a new one set to begin.

Her head lifts upward to watch the flock of piranha beetles fly across the canopy overhead one last time, a small smile on her face. She'll try; she'll try to keep that promise of friendship. But she knows it's not made to last. It doesn't bother her.

She's fifteen at this moment, and her life has yet to really begin.

_And I'm just dreaming  
Counting the ways to where you are\ _

"I love you, Jaina. Come to Csilla. Marry me."

"I... I…" Faltering and stuttering as she blinks back tears. No, she knows she's going to say no. "Jag, I love you, too. But…"

His face becomes grimmer than she's ever seen it and it stabs her heart. "But?"

She shakes her head, and blinks back tears. "Just, not now. Not tonight. I can't… I'm not ready."

"Will you ever be?"

"I don't know." Hearts beat in silence. Lost, she feels lost. "Just hold me?"

Like always, he does.

It's morning now and the sun's rising and she knows she has to move on. Step away from another desperate attempt at reconnecting with him, another failure in her life. She's becoming distant from everyone, but she thought it would be different with him. She hoped it would be different with him. It wasn't.

She wraps her cloak tightly around her body, as if it would stop the chill from creeping up the back of her neck. Standing by the edge of the bed, she watches him sleep, one arm clenched around a pillow and the other still reaching out as if holding her. Most of all, she watches the content expression on his face, forming a permanent holo in her head.

She needs to move on with her life, but she can't. It's too hard, too difficult. But she's accepted it, diving head first into her role as a Jedi instead. It's easiest to be alone, after all. To remain aloof and independent from the rest of the galaxy, and especially to protect those she loves.

At twenty-two, it's easiest to say goodbye one last time.

_And we're on fire  
Making our way back from Mars _

"Mama, when's Anni gonna be here?"

"Soon enough." She chuckles, helping the wide-eyed boy clamber up into her lap.

He presses his ear against her rounded stomach, tickling the sensitive skin. "She should come out _now_. I wanna be a big brother _now_."

She hugs him close as another voice intrudes in the room, chastising gently. "You will be soon enough, Chak."

Whiney protests fill the space around them, protests that fill her heart with love as her husband continues talking. "But for the moment, perhaps you should go join Sneaky and your brother in the galley. Your mother needs her rest."

"Most considerate of you, Commander Fel."

New hands wrap themselves around her body in place of the tinier ones that just left. "As always, my love."

She's thirty-three now, en route from Cilla to Ossus, and can't remember feeling more alive. There's a new life inside her again, the baby's presence small but strong in the Force. As the planet comes into view, she places a hand on her abdomen, in time to feel a vigorous kick.

She chuckles, smiling at the man sitting in her usual seat as pilot. He's her husband of five years now, and the only soul she'll let fly this ship, his anniversary gift to her, aside from herself. As he smiles back, love fills her heart, and she stretches out with the Force to share the sensation with him.

Soon, they'll have another addition to their small family, and she'll have another reason to live. It's not a Killik nest, and it's not the family she grew up with, but on this ship, among her husband and sons, she's finally home.

_But you see I'm a they  
A kid on the way  
__A family on my mind. _

"Jaina Fel, the Sword of the Jedi, it is my honor to present you with the title of Jedi Master."

A clap on her back and congratulations still ringing in her ears. She's unable to stop the proud smile from breeching her face.

She bows in front of her uncle, humbleness racing through her. "May the Force be with you in this next step of your life."

"Thank you."

Lightsabers are raised in salute to all the newest masters and knights as she takes her place among them.

A day later and she sits on the Council, not as another knight, but as a Master. There's talk of war approaching, a conflict in the edges of the Outer Rim Territories that's escalating beyond control. She's forty-five, and she knows what war means. Pain, death, loss. She'll be losing another friend, another comrade soon enough, and she doesn't want to.

The years have softened her, but she doesn't care. She's lost a brother and a mindmate and all these other people, more than she can count. Now her sons are going on their first real mission as apprentices, and she doesn't want to lose them, too.

But she's a Jedi, married to a CEDF admiral, and she knows she has no choice in the matter. Duty is more important than irrational fears, more worthwhile. As she nods in agreement with the rest of the Masters, she realizes that they'll be safe. They are her kids, after all.

_And I'm heading into a crisis  
Chasing the years of my life.  
_

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

His face nuzzles her ear, wrinkles soft against her skin and she's nodding, taking a step back to lean against him.

"I thought I would find you here." There's a smile in his voice; she doesn't have to look up to see.

Peace and love and happiness and all those emotions from all those years fill the smile on her face. "You know me so well."

"I would hope so, considering all the years we've spent together." Chuckling, grinning, no reason to be grim.

Her hand tightens around his, pressing it against the fabric of her dark green dress. Smiling lovingly. "They've been good years, eh?"

"I've always thought to cherish them as much as I cherish you."

Sixty-seven and vast approaching a forty year anniversary. Going to watch their eldest granddaughter graduate from the Jedi praxeum, and she knows she couldn't ask for anything more. She wraps her arms around his waist, resting her head against the lapels of his uniform and closing her eyes. He returns the hug, and together they stand in embrace, quietly watching the starts fly by.

As fast as the years have in their life.

_Another blink of an eye  
Sixty-seven is gone _

The sound of a bird squawking in the frigid tundra wakes her from her slumber. She blinks sleepily, letting her eyes adjust to the dim light. Shifting carefully to her side and then reaching out a hand to caress her husband's cheek, his many wrinkles reminding her of all the years that have past them by.

After a moment's decision, she closes her eyes and reaches into the Force to brush her presence against his. Less than a second later, her eyes open wide and she stares at him, her heart skipping a beat. She wants to cry, but no tears come, only a calm acceptance of his passing.

Her hand runs across his cheek again, and she maneuvers her body to hug his, tucking her head under his chin.

The memories rush to her. Fifteen, twenty-two. The time in between: a reunion after a bloody war with the Killiks that quickly leads to that marriage she had always hoped for but never actually expected. Their twins being born about a year later, then thirty-three, three more kids, and her family – i their /i family – is complete.

Forty-five and earning a master's rank and a seat on the Jedi Council. Watching Jag advance in the ranks, raising their kids together, wars and marriages and births, hardships and joys, all meld together within the confines of her memory. And the promise of happiness and hope, not to ever let the other be alone, and to remain faithful to each other until death.

Until now.

She holds him tight, letting her eyelids shutter close one more time. Finally, at age ninety-nine, it's time to rest.

_Dying for just another moment  
And I'm just dreaming  
__Counting the ways to where you are _

-fin-


End file.
